Angelina NIKONOVA
Ангелина НИКОНОВА
Anguelina NIKONOVA
Russia, 2011, 105mn 
Colour, fiction
Twilight Portrait
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Портрет в сумерках

 

 Portrait au crépuscule

 Portret v symerkakh

 
Directed by : Angelina NIKONOVA (Ангелина НИКОНОВА)
Writing credits : Olga DYKHOVICHNAIA (Ольга ДЫХОВИЧНАЯ), Angelina NIKONOVA (Ангелина НИКОНОВА)
 
Cast
Olga DYKHOVICHNAIA (Ольга ДЫХОВИЧНАЯ)
Sergey BORISOV (Сергей БОРИСОВ)
Sergey GOLYUDOV (Сергей ГОЛЮДОВ)
Roman MERINOV (Роман МЕРИНОВ)
Galina KOREN (Галина КОРЕНЬ)
Vsevolod_2 VORONOV (Всеволод_2 ВОРОНОВ)
 
Cinematography : Iben BULL (Ибен БУЛЛ)
Production design : Oleg FEDYKHIN (Олег ФЕДЫХИН)
Produced by : Olga DYKHOVICHNAIA (Ольга ДЫХОВИЧНАЯ), Angelina NIKONOVA (Ангелина НИКОНОВА), Leonid OGAREV (Леонид ОГАРЕВ)
Production : Film Company “Baraban”
Rezo Films, www.rezofilms.com
Film revenue in Russia : 0.1541 million dollars
 
Sites : Page Allociné, page IMDb
Release date in France : 2012-02-22, Site

Awards :
Best Screenplay Festival International du film de Femmes de Salé : FIFFS, Salé (Morocco), 2012
Best Cinematography Iben BULL , Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2011
Best film FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema, Cottbus (Germany), 2011
First prize Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Thessaloniki (Greece), 2011
First prize Reykjavik International Film Festival, Reykjavik (Iceland ), 2011
Best first film Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2011
Best Screenplay Olga DYKHOVICHNAIA , Angelina NIKONOVA , Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2011
Best actress Olga DYKHOVICHNAIA , Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2011
Third Award Sputnik nad Polska, Warsaw (Poland), 2011
First prize Festival européen des Arcs, Les Arcs (France), 2011
Best first film Award "White Elephant", Moscow (Russia), 2011

Plot synopsis
Finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, Marina is sucked into a whirlpool of dramatic events. The humiliation and pain she suffered have changed the course of her stable and safe life. Marina is looking for opportunities to avenge. Day after day she returns to the suburb where a fateful meeting has taken place. When she manages to track down the instigator of the crime, she decides not to use the banal weapon of revenge. Marina resorts to the professional skills of a psychologist, who dexterously manipulates the cruel character of the offender.
 

Commentaries and bibliography
L’espace comme piège dans les films russes contemporains, Eugénie ZVONKINE, Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 2017
Portrait au crépuscule : le viol ou la violence du pouvoir, lemonde.fr, 2012
Portrait au Crépuscule d’Anguelina Nikonova : un violent désenchantement, toutelaculture.com, 2012
Portrait au crépuscule, Pierre MURAT, telerama.fr, 2012
Portrait au crépuscule. Rencontre avec Joël Chapron, Joël CHAPRON, Utopia Avignon, 2012:03:07-04:10, 322, 2012
Cinéma Russe : Anguelina NIKONOVA - Andreï ZVIAGUINTSEV [Enregistrement sonore], Angelina NIKONOVA, Andrey ZVIAGINTSEV, franceinter.fr, 2012
Deux femmes et un film rudement russes [A propos du film Portraits au crépuscule], Thomas SOTINEL, lemonde.fr, 2012
Жоэль Шапрон : "Похоже, что Россия наконец решила заняться экспортом своих фильмов", Interview, kinoglaz.fr, 2012
Gangrènes de la société russe. A propos de Portrait au crépuscule d’Anguelina Nikonova, borokoff.net, 2012
Joël Chapron : "La Russie semble avoir enfin décidé de prendre en main l’exportation de ses films", Interview, kinoglaz.fr, 2012
Les 11 meilleurs films russes de 2011, Maria FADEEVA, RUSSIA BEYOND, 2012
Angelina Nikonova, Twilight Portrait (Portret v sumerkakh, 2011), Marcia LANDY, kinokultura.com, 2011
Прямая речь: фрагменты пресс-конференций на "Кинотавре", Искусство кино, 8, 2011
Фемина торжествующая. Портрет в сумерках режиссера Ангелина Никонова, Igor SUKMANOV, Искусствокино, 8, 2011
 
Director's Statement : When I read the first draft of the script written by Olga Dihovichnaya, the main heroine was much older, in her forties. Andrey’s part was written for a young bully in his early twenties. Overall the story was much harsher and darker. It was a true punch in the audience’s groin. I like well-written and performed dramas, but even I felt that the story had to be lightened up a bit. It needed some air, some ambiguity. I participated in writing of the script mainly as a friend, since Olga was going to direct the film. When Olga changed her mind and offered me to direct it, I immediately realized that she was the perfect lead. And this is how Twilight Portrait started to get a new layer of passion between very different but equally strong, Man and a Woman. I decided I wanted to shoot the film in Rostov-on-Don. Most of the Southerners speak with a very specific accent and I realized I needed it. The Woman and the Man should sound different as well. I almost casted the young lead for Andrey’s part when I came across a real militiaman, Sergey Borisov… That’s when all the puzzle parts fit fell into place. I finally had the “perfect couple”. Olga managed to nail in her story the true nature of the most disturbing phenomenon in contemporary society – indifference. I was amazed at the honesty of the story’s atmosphere. That is why I chose certain technique in making of the film. It was important for me to accentuate the authenticity of it all. I involved mostly non-actors. We used photo cameras Cannon Mark II to shoot the story. I chose to use two cameras that always worked simultaneously from different spots. Therefore most of the dialogues bear natural reactions of the actors. I challenged the DOP and the cameraman not to use lights at all – only natural lighting. It was hardest to work that way during the night scenes that take place inside the car, but we managed. I challenged Olga not to use any make up on the set. And she was brave enough to reject hair and make-up artists’ help. We sometimes re-wrote dialogues on set if I felt the words were alien to an actor – we found another way of saying the line – it was important for me that the lines fit perfectly into their mouths

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- Russian Film Festival For Another Russia, Paris (France), 2019
- Transilvania International Film Festival : TIFF, Cluj Napoca (Romania), 2019
- Russian film festival in Ajaccio, Ajaccio (France), 2015
- Days of Russian cinema in Limoges, Limoges (France), 2014
- Les rencontres culturelles Russenko, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (France), 2014
- Days of Russian cinema, Aix les Bains (France), 2013
- Strasbourg two weeks of Russian cinema, Strasbourg (France), 2013
- Festival du film russe à Quimperlé, Quimperlé (France), 2013
- Film Festival Black Movie, Geneva (Switzerland), 2013
- Russian film symposium. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (USA), 2013
- Sydney Film Festival, Sydney (Australia), 2012
- Brussels Film Festival, Brussels (Belgium), 2012
- Sarajevo Film Festival, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), 2012
- Vancouver International Film Festival, Vancouver (Canada), 2012
- Hong-Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong (China), 2012
- Prague International Film Festival : Febiofest, Prague (Czech Republic), 2012
- Helsinki International Film Festival, Helsinki (Finland), 2012
- Les rencontres des cinémas d'Europe, Aubenas (France), 2012
- Russian Film Festival, Orléans (France), 2012
- Cinémas russes à Montauban, Montauban (France), 2012
- Europe around Europe, Paris (France), 2012
- Festival de films russes Kinorama au cinéma Royal de Biarritz, Biarritz (France), 2012
- Release in France of the film, Different cities (France), 2012-02-22
- Angers Festival Premiers Plans, Angers (France), 2012
- The Dublin International Film Festival, Dublin (Ireland), 2012
- Haifa International Film Festival, Haifa (Israel), 2012
- Festival International du film de Femmes de Salé : FIFFS, Salé (Morocco), 2012
- Rotterdam International Film Festival, Rotterdam (Netherlands), 2012
- Sputnik nad Polska, Warsaw (Poland), 2012
- Monaco Charity Film Festival, Monaco (Principality of Monaco), 2012
- Independant European Film Festival VOICES, Vologda (Russia), 2012
- International Film Festival Tarkovski, Ivanovo (Russia), 2012
- Art Film Festival, Trencin (Slovakia), 2012
- Istanbul International Film Festival, Istanbul (Turkey), 2012
- New Directors New Films, New York (USA), 2012
- New Cinema Festival, Montreal (Canada), 2011
- Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto (Canada), 2011
- Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival : PÖFF, Tallinn (Estonia), 2011
- Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2011
- Festival européen des Arcs, Les Arcs (France), 2011
- Tbilisi International Film Festival, Tbilisi (Georgia), 2011
- FilmFestival Cottbus - Festival of East European Cinema, Cottbus (Germany), 2011
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Thessaloniki (Greece), 2011
- Reykjavik International Film Festival, Reykjavik (Iceland ), 2011
- Venice International Film Festival, Venice (Italy), 2011
- Sputnik nad Polska, Warsaw (Poland), 2011
- Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival, Estoril (Portugal), 2011
- International Film Festival : Pacific Meridians, Vladivostok (Russia), 2011
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 2011
- International Human Rights Film Festival, Moscow (Russia), 2011
- Award "White Elephant", Moscow (Russia), 2011
- International Festival of Contemporary Cinema «Zavtra / 2morrow», Moscow (Russia), 2011
- Stockholm International Film Festival, Stockholm (Sweden), 2011
- The Times BFI London Film Festival, London (United Kingdom), 2011
- Russian Film Festival, London (United Kingdom), 2011

Photos and videos
 

PORTRAIT AU CREPUSCULE FA from REZO on Vimeo.